HUMZA Yousaf fired back at Sky News during an interview about whether or not he would stand down after the next General Election, depending on the result.
During an interview with Sky News on Tuesday morning, the First Minister was asked if he would “stand down” should Labour take half of the SNP’s seats at the next Westminster election.
In response to the question, Yousaf laughed and replied: “It’s incredible. I’ve been in the job for three months. That must be a record for somebody asking me if I’ll stand down and not a single ballot has been cast.
Will Humza Yousaf stand down as First Minister of Scotland if he loses to Labour in the next General Election? "I'll go in there with the very focused aim of winning that General Election".https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/f2pBS3v4HC
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 20, 2023
“So well done to Sky News for that. Look for me I don’t go into elections other than hoping to win.
“I don’t go into elections hypothecating a loss, so I’ll go in there with the very focused aim of winning that General Election.”
Independence support ‘rock solid’
Yousaf was also asked about Scottish independence. It was put to him by the presenter that the controversy surrounding Nicola Sturgeon “could be the death knell for the independence movement”.
The First Minister replied: “I don’t believe that at all. What I believe is that yes the last couple of months have been extremely challenging for the SNP.
“Again, I’m not going to fool your viewers by denying that being the case. But when you look at that, even despite we’ve had the toughest few weeks probably in our party’s recent history, support for independence is absolutely rock solid.
'Could Nicola Sturgeon be the death knell for Scottish independence?' Humza Yousaf says support for independence in Scotland is "rock solid".https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/ZiH8b2dyLz
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 20, 2023
“So we’ve got that solid support for independence. My job is to make sure that when these matters pass, and they will pass of course, that we continue to build on those strong foundations that has seen us elected by the people of Scotland election after election after election.
“The next national test of course will be that General Election and I’ve got every confidence that we will go into that hoping to win.”
